Thursday, May 26, 2011

To better understand how bad this storm was you need to see the aftermath video where survivor Isaac Duncan explains where he and others hid in the mini-mart gas station walk in cooler. Undoubtedly the cooler is what saved their lives.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

In my opinion, the opposition to H1728 is nothing more than a particularly distasteful red herring as proven in opponents calling it the “Bathroom Bill”. I say it is a red herring because it leads people away from the original issues of Transgender rights without ever addressing those concerns; they seem dismissed as unimportant. I believe it is extremely distasteful to compare the equality of our citizens to fears that are both trivial and unproven. In fact, I believe the insult is obvious and intentional.

I am at a loss to understand how this bill opens an opportunity for criminals that was not previously there, nor do I see how denying Transgender rights affords society a magic lock on public bathrooms that keeps villains out. The juxtaposition of crime with Transgender rights seems meant to remind us of a time when homosexual activity was illegal; a time that many of the opponents of this bill think longingly of.

There are hate groups out there still churning up imaginary issues for us to buy into and using our fears against us. Women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement have taught us that hate will never fade completely away; it is an unpleasant reality of social dynamics we must learn to live with. We have a responsibility to be good neighbors to one another and to examine the facts carefully when we are asked to give our opinions or pass judgment. We should be as careful and fair with other people’s issues as we would have them be with ours.

What concerns me the most about what I see happening in reference to H1728 is how good people will listen to hate mongers and follow them so readily, accepting their unfounded untruths as fact. We need to be ever vigilant not to shirk our responsibility as Americans to defend the liberty others died to give us, or we dishonor that sacrifice. In saying that H1728 will open the bathroom door to predators of women and children the opponents of Transgender rights are attempting to play the moderate middle for fools, hoping that people won’t care enough to examine the facts for themselves, since they’ve seen this method work so well in the recent past with other issues.

I pray that we will learn from our mistakes and in the future have the courage to look where we should and remember our duty to one another as a unified people. I hold hope that this future will come soon.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

While coming back from my cousin's wedding we saw two police cruisers fly past us at over 90 miles an hour with their lights on; clearly there was an emergency. We arrived at the toll booth only minutes after a terrible tragedy claimed the life of the driver, who had crashed into the tolls at approximately 80 miles an hour. The car disintegrated into unrecognizable pieces and burst into flames; our camera caught what happened right after the flames went out and before we knew the fate of the driver. Our prayers and thoughts are with the victim of the crash and his family.

Recommended Reading

Veteran Ben LaGuer

Let me finally return to Dwight Macdonald and the responsibility of intellectuals. Macdonald quotes an interview with a death-camp paymaster who burst into tears when told that the Russians would hang him. "Why should they? What have I done?" he asked. Macdonald concludes: "Only those who are willing to resist authority themselves when it conflicts too intolerably with their personal moral code, only they have the right to condemn the death-camp paymaster." The question, "What have I done?" is one that we may well ask ourselves, as we read each day of fresh atrocities in Vietnam—as we create, or mouth, or tolerate the deceptions that will be used to justify the next defense of freedom.

– Chomsky, The Responsibility of Intellectuals 1967

Words to Remember:

"Juris praecepta sunt haec: honeste vivere; alterum non laedere; suum cuique tribuere"(These are the precepts of the law: To live honorably; to hurt nobody; to render to every one his due.)

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." -Section 1 of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution

Never Forgotten; Sadly Missed

Lawrence King

GLBT Legends

Paul McMahon and Ralph Hodgdon in 2007

"If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness." -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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